We examine changes in work adjustment among 179 expatriates from 3 multinational organizations from predeparture through the first 9 months of a new international assignment. Our 10-wave results challenge classic U-shaped theories of expatriate adjustment (e.g., Torbiorn, 1982). Consistent with uncertainty reduction theory, our results instead suggest that expatriates typically experience a gradual increase in work adjustment over time. Two resources that expatriates bring to their assignments (previous culture-specific work experience and core self-evaluations) moderate the trajectory of work adjustment. Trajectory of adjustment predicts Month 9 career instrumentality and turnover intention, as well as career advancement (job promotion) 1.5 years further. Implications for theory, as well as for changes in expatriate management practices, are discussed.
the expatriate
This paper seeks to review and explore the relatively neglected notion of the adjustment of expatriate families to living abroad with the aim of developing a new model that can be used for future research.
The paper draws on the few studies of the topic that have been carried out, but widens the search to include evidence from the related adjustment and family stress literature to create a new model of the process. Using the ideas of stressors, strains and hassles, capabilities, and shared meanings, the paper examines the situation of the expatriate family and explores how families can adjust to life in another country.
The contribution of the paper comes in its attempt to encompass what is known about expatriate family adaptation directly with a wider view of family adjustment. This provides both a practical framework for future research and some practical implications.
Duration of travel is an important factor in addressing travel health safety due to cumulative risk of exposure to illness and injury. The diverse group of expatriate and long-term business and leisure travelers present a different spectrum of issues for the travel medicine practitioner to address during consultation than does the short-term traveler, due to changes in travel patterns and activities, lifestyle alterations, and increased interaction with local populations. Immunization provides one safe and reliable method of preventing infectious illness in this group. We review travel patterns and available data on illnesses that they may be exposed to, including the increased risk of certain vaccine-preventable illnesses. We review the pre-travel management of these travelers, particularly the increased risk of certain vaccine-preventable illnesses as it applies to routine vaccines, recommended travel vaccines and required travel vaccines.
The Expatriate Services Division (ESD) is the first point of contact for companies who wish to employ eligible expatriates. All companies will need to register with the ESD as a first step. Read More The MYXpats Centre focuses on the processing of passes for individuals. Read More
The Immigration Department of Malaysia (JIM) has innovated in managing expatriate entry by allowing Long-Term Pass holders to use the Autogate facility, which was previously only available to Malaysian citizens.
For expatriate health plans issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2015, the Expatriate Health Coverage Clarification Act of 2014 (EHCCA) provides an exemption from various Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions. Last December, Congress enacted the EHCCA as Division M of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015. Section 3(a) of the EHCCA clarifies that the ACA and certain titles of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 do not apply to (1) expatriate health plans, (2) employers that sponsor those plans, and (3) expatriate health insurance issuers (with respect to the expatriate coverage). Notably, the EHCCA does not provide an exemption from the coverage reporting requirements in Internal Revenue Code (IRC) sections 6055 and 6056 (except a more liberal electronic delivery rule applies) and does not exempt sponsors from the excise tax on high cost employer-sponsored coverage in IRC section 4980I for individuals with highly specialized skill sets and expertise temporarily assigned (not transferred) to the United States for specific employment-related purposes.
Our collection includes letters, diaries, blogs, photos, videos, and other documents which together give a complete picture of everyday life abroad, from the late 19th century to the present day. These original source materials are invaluable for academic researchers looking to study expatriate experiences from a wide range of perspectives. We always welcome new contributions from expats and their families, in any language and from any country. Read our Collecting Policy.
Who are expatriates? How do they differ from other migrants? And why should we care about such distinctions? Expatriate interrogates the contested category of 'the expatriate' to explore its history and politics, its making and lived experience. Drawing on ethnographic and archival research, the book offers a critical reading of International Human Resource Management literature, explores the work and history of the Expatriate Archive Centre in The Hague, and studies the usage and significance of the category in Kenyan history and present-day 'expat Nairobi'. Doing so, the book traces the figure of the expatriate from the mid-twentieth-century era of decolonisation to today's heated debates about migration.
The expatriate emerges as a malleable and contested category, of shifting meaning and changing membership, and as passionately embraced by some as it is rejected by others. The book situates the changing usage of the term in the context of social, political and economic struggle and explores the material and discursive work the expatriate performs in negotiating social inequalities and power relations. Migration, the book argues, is a key terrain on which colonial power relations have been reproduced and translated, and migration categories are at the heart of the insidious ways that intersecting material and symbolic inequalities are enacted today. Any project for social justice needs to dissect and interrogate categories like the expatriate, and this book offers analytical and methodical strategies to advance this project.
Introduction1 Following the expatriate: theoretical and methodological starting pointsPart I: The historical expatriate2 From colonial civil servant to expatriate at the eve of Kenyan independence3 Towards a new breed of expatriate manager in international business4 Remaking the Shell expatriate: from company wife to global citizenPart II: The expatriate today5 Making international expats in Nairobi 6 Archiving the temporary expatriate 7 Studying expatriates: academic divisions of (skilled) labour Conclusion Index
We comprehensively test the Black, Mendenhall, and Oddou (1991) model of the dimensions and determinants of adjustment to international assignments. We also expand the model to examine two individual factors (i.e., previous assignments and language fluency) and three positional factors (i.e., hierarchical level, functional area, and assignment vector) as moderators of adjustment determinants. Surveys were completed by 452 expatriates from 29 different countries assigned to 45 host countries by large multinational firms. The multi-dimensionality of adjustment was investigated and confirmed. Support for the expanded Black et al. (1991) model was found. Several significant moderating effects emerged, showing different patterns of adjustment for those with different amounts of previous expatriate experience and levels of host country language fluency. Hierarchical level and assignment vector were also important moderators, but the effects for functional area were generally weak.
Whether the worker enrolls in the marketplace or goes uninsured (scenarios 2 or 3 above), the employer will not have to pay a penalty. The employer then has no incentive to encourage scenario 1 by making the offer of coverage attractive and affordable. Employers looking for the least expensive option could offer expatriate plans that are not only second-class in terms of benefits, but that also have unaffordable premiums for workers.
The fact is, however, that most companies get anemic returns on their expat investments. Over the past decade, we have studied the management of expatriates at about 750 U.S., European, and Japanese companies. We asked both the expatriates themselves and the executives who sent them abroad to evaluate their experiences. In addition, we looked at what happened after expatriates returned home. Was their tenure worthwhile from a personal and organizational standpoint?
They end expatriate assignments with a deliberate repatriation process. Most executives who oversee expat employees view their return home as a nonissue. The truth is, repatriation is a time of major upheaval, professionally and personally, for two-thirds of expats. Companies that recognize this fact help their returning people by providing them with career guidance and enabling them to put their international experience to work.
Global Citizens: Understanding the expatriate landscape and opportunityGlobal mobility is changing at a rapid speed: globalised markets, demand for international experience and a desire to seek a better life have resulted in a large and diverse expatriate population that is estimated to increase to more than 60m over the next five years.
Understanding the composition of the expatriate targets, and connecting country-specific as well as international trends, will be critical to develop a winning strategy. This paper provides some insights in this rapidly changing insurance market. 2ff7e9595c
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